Israeli Government Will Act in Accordance With the EBU Rules

A statement from the office of the Israeli Prime Minister has confirmed that the Government will be adhering to the rules outlined by the European Broadcasting Union.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that his Government will following the rules outlined by the European Broadcasting Union for hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in 2019. A statement from the Prime Ministers office reads;

The government (will) act in accordance with European Broadcasting Union rules … However, there are open legal issues regarding the Eurovision stemming from matters of pending legislation that are yet before the courts. The Prime Minister instructed that the legal aspects of the matter be examined with the relevant officials before a decision is made.

The statement follows a meeting earlier today with the Culture Minister Miri Regev, Communications Minister Ayoub Kara, Tourism Minister Yariv Levin and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit. At the meeting the future of the Israeli national broadcaster, IPBC was discussed as referenced in the statement released today.

A law passed by Mr Netenyahu last year seeks to split the entertainment and news wings of IPBC, however the law is currently held up by the High Court. According to reports in the Israeli media the High Court wishes to approve the split of the broadcaster but delay it by 12-18 months to ensure that Israel can host next years contest. Should the law be approved and no delay be implemented IPBC according the Director General of the EBU is unlikely to retain its EBU membership. Mr Curran stated in the letter which was sent last week that;

the EBU may have reservations about membership on that basis and a new membership application would be required and subject to thorough reexamination by all the EBU governing bodies.

Adding;

We are not aware of any PSM [public service media] organization that operates the news in a totally separate entity with a separate governance.

Yesterday Israeli media reported that the European Broadcasting Union was considering moving the 2019 contest to Austria. Israel’s plan to host Eurovision has courted some controversy including concerns over boycotts. Problems have also arisen even within Israel, such as religious authorities’ concerns over the Shabbat. To date the following cities have expressed an interest in hosting next years contest;

• Eilat
• Haifa
• Jerusalem
• Petah Tikva
• Tel Aviv

Source: JTA